United Kingdom
Guide to Business Travel in 2012
January 2012
Planning your business travel for 2012? Don't do anything until you've read our guide...
2012 is certainly an exciting year for the UK; major events like the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee offer opportunities as well as challenges for UK businesses. At the same time we can't ignore what is happening all around us and in the eurozone. CWT is here to help travel managers make the most of 2012 while keeping control of rising costs. Our medal-winning strategies:
Strategic meetings management (SMM)
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Read the full CWT guide to 2012
Tips for your business travel in 2012
Our guide to 2012 takes on the spirit of the Olympics, providing ideas for each area in bronze, silver and gold. Our bronze level quick win tips are below. To go for silver or gold, download the full CWT guide to 2012.
Business Travel policy - Review your business travel policy annually. Some policies will not have been looked at in years. Go for silver or gold.
Planning ahead - Ask your travellers to think about booking a restricted ticket on a particular timed train on the outward journey rather than purchasing an open return. Go for silver or gold.
Online booking tools - Consider whether your company is ready to go online. Do your employees have easy access to PCs and fast internet connections? Go for silver or gold.
Strategic meetings management (SMM) - Talk to the people organising your business events to understand what the opportunities would be if the company consolidated its meetings spend. Go for silver or gold.
Mobile technology - Since more than half of the UK population now owns a
smartphone, recognise that your employees will travel with theirs, whether company-provided,
private or both. Take a survey among your travellers to find out what they carry with them.
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CWT To Go
Go for silver or gold.
The effect of the Olympics - Few companies have already set policies for the Olympic period. Travel buyers should think now about what advice they should be giving to travellers - booking early is a good place to start! Go for silver or gold.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) - Set targets on how many tickets are bought 7, 14 or 21 days in advance as well as the proportion of unrestricted tickets bought. Go for silver or gold.
The rising cost of air travel - Consolidate your air spend among a small number of preferred airlines. There are always deals to be done, particularly on highly competitive routes. Go for silver or gold.
Rail fare rises - Book early. The savings available if you book an advance purchase ticket can be substantial. Go for silver or gold.
Rising hotel occupancy - For high demand cities, consider new properties in new areas, particularly as global and national chains add more independent properties to their portfolios. Being flexible could save you money. Go for silver or gold.
Airline alliances - Ask the airline corporate sales team what benefits their getting together with other carriers will bring to your company. Go for silver or gold.
Greener business travel - Look at your organisation’s fleet usage, particularly so-called grey fleet where people are using private vehicles which are typically older and more polluting, for business travel. Does car hire make more sense? Go for silver or gold.
Ready, set, go!
Contact your CWT programme manager for more information or to implement any of these winning strategies in 2012.
All the information is correct at the time of the article being published on the web. We’re not responsible for any of the quotes and opinions given in this article by people who don’t work for Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT)
